Witness threatened

PUBLISHED: 13:30 14 November 2008 | UPDATED: 10:00 10 June 2010

A learner driver, who crashed a stolen car and then threatened a man that he would stab him if he told police he was the driver, picked on someone who had not even seen the accident. Exeter Crown Court heard Martin Handley, 26, stole his ex-partner s high

A learner driver, who crashed a stolen car and then threatened a man that he would stab him if he told police he was the driver, picked on someone who had not even seen the accident.Exeter Crown Court heard Martin Handley, 26, stole his ex-partner's high powered Toyota Celica sports saloon in Honiton and then crashed into another vehicle which shunted another car in the High Street. Damage amounting to £5,000 was caused to the cars and Handley ran off from the scene. But the following day he went back and knocked on the door of a house nearby.He told Matthew Robinson: "I will stab the person who says I was driving the car."Prosecutor Tom Bradnock said Mr Robinson had not seen the crash and did not make a statement to the police until after he was threatened by the defendant.Handley, who at the time was living at the Castle Break Holiday Park at Woodbury, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and witness intimidation. He also admitted driving without a licence, having no insurance and failing to stop after an accident.The court heard Handley had committed 44 previous offences, including battery and robbery. He was remanded on bail for a pre-sentence report.Judge Jeremy Griggs warned him that these were extremely serious offences and said: "My granting you bail is no indication that you will not receive a custodial sentence.